"Fall is a lovely time
of the year. The hillsides are filled with various hues and colors and
slowly the ground is covered with a blanket of leaves to protect the roots and to eventually nourish the tree with
essential nutrients. If man does not dispose of them too soon. The tree is
left standing, bare of all evidence of wether its particular leaves
were beautiful or diseased by a blight of some sort.
The branches reach up to towards the heavens as if asking for a new
beginning which they receive every spring.
New leaves like thoughts bud out and every tree has a chance to be
beautiful again.
How
nice it would be if
people could shed their bad habits, strong thinking, predjuces,
dissolutionments and petty grievences as easily as the tree sheds its
leaves and begins again with a heart full of love, compassion
and understanding for their fellow man." I
loved this thought
because I'm not there yet, I must be part Eucalypt or
Madronna. Some trees just hate shedding their leaves and when they do,
it is to carpet the understory with their leaves, burying all
competition. Some trees, like humans are simply thugs and hold onto old
grievances instead of mulching them away. And like the beauty of leaves
in the Fall, it is
always wise to remember that
"Life is not measured by the number of
breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath
away." I also seem to be having
more "Senior moments," not remembering a plants name even though I
propagated and have grown them for years. Worse yet, unseen illumintaions fall into your head from nowhere. I
always wonder, when they fall out, where do they go? Such musings suggest
that the tree I am must also be endowed with thorns -- perhaps, I am a curmudgony Monkey
Puzzle Tree after all.
An afterthought and suggestion perhaps. This song “Hello in There” by John Prine really got to me years ago when I lost my mother. Our
communications were never the best and I had lost my father even
earlier. Today, I know very little about their real being except for being parents -- not always good. Today, I wished I had asked more and communicated better.
I always keep that song in my mind when I visit with these “old friends.” You see, I am at that stage myself and my daughters don't know me at all.
The following u-tube link is for all of you that are old and those that are going to be old one day.
A sweet old lady is asked to say Grace at a Seniors Home. She brought down the house of seniors and caregivers. Enjoy! It starts off
slowly but then becomes something great. Be patient. Her
dry wit reminds me of a dear old friend and was great! "As long as I have the microphone." She is funny....and makes me laugh!! We all need to laugh
more...it helps us to forget our usual aches and pains. Thanks Ms
Maxwell! http://stg.do/9i0c
Herb Senft.